The use of metal and plastic ferrules for holding or damming a pump or other dispensing device to a container has been disclosed by the prior art. For example., U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,297 discloses a metal ferrule for clamping a pump housing to the neck of a bottle. The ferrule is clamped by crimping it onto a container neck to hold a pump housing, plunger and other related components in an assembled relation. Such a prior art device differs from the present invention in that it must be crimped on to the container which may disfigure the overall outer appearance of the container. In addition to appearance considerations, crimping processes in general add steps and expensive machinery to the dispensing container filling and manufacturing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,553 discloses an assembly for securing and sealing a dispenser to a flanged container. That patent discloses the use of a sealing collar comprised of a resilient deformable material such as polyethylene for securing and sealing a dispenser, such as a pump, to the flanged container. The sealing collar has a diameter sized to receive the sidewall of the flange, and sized to be encased by a mounting cup. The sealing collar includes a skirt portion having radially and outwardly protruding members or tabs. The sealing collar is secured to the container by the deformation of the tabs radially inwardly, beneath the flange ledge of the container, caused by the sliding movement of the mounting cup over the sealing collar. The disadvantage of this design is that the tabs do not secure the mounting cup to the entire assembly so that removal of the mounting cup is relatively easy. To prevent removal of the mounting cup, one embodiment discloses a modified mounting cup which has a groove cut on the inside diameter which is designed to receive the tabs. This design integrally locks the mounting cup in place. The drawback of this design is that it requires the additional step of creating a groove in the inside diameter of the mounting cup.